2020 Trend to Watch: Hand Tracking – Hand Physics Lab

Using your hands in VR can often feel like using two clubs to eat a sandwich. Though the past decade gave us a glimpse into motion/hand tracking, it’s really only recently that it has had a jump in accuracy and functionality.

Dennys Kuhnert, Co-founder and COO of Holonautic, a Swiss VR experience and game maker, has shared a new project demonstrating where we’re at with the technology and some potential applications.

Hand Physics Lab is a project that pushes the limits of hand tracking, combining it with physics to provide a more life-like VR experience. Dennys has shared several tweets previewing the interaction physics of virtual objects.

According to Dennys, the app uses the Oculus Quest hand tracking technology released earlier this year. This hand tracking uses deep neural networks that use a combination of deep learning and model-based tracking (as opposed to depth-sensing technology or sensor-laden gloves) that construct a 26 degree-of-freedom, 3-dimensional representation of a fully-articulating hand.

The Hand Physics Lab builds on the experience in Holonautic’s first physics-based game Holoception that allows you to venture scenes battling cartoon stick minions and machines bent on wreaking havoc. It’s your job to take them out in a Matrix-like VR environment.

The Hand Physics Lab project is currently in pre-launch and will go live on SideQuestVR at the end of this week. You can follow along for updates about the project on the Hand Physics Lab Twitter account. And, for those interested, there’s an Immersive Interaction Design Masterclass taught by the Holonautic’s team new available at XR Bootcamp.

Josh is founder and editor at SolidSmack.com, founder at Aimsift Inc., and co-founder of EvD Media. He is involved in engineering, design, visualization, the technology making it happen, and the content developed around it. He is a SolidWorks Certified Professional and excels at falling awkwardly.